The sudden passing of W. J. Drummond on Wednesday came as a te rible shock to all sporting people in Shanghai. 'Steve' as he was affection ately known to his friends was one of Shanghai's racing stalwarts having been a member since 1911 For the past four years he has rendered invaluable service as honorary handicapper to the club and during the whole of this period Shanghai has been treated to specttcular and close finishes in races, ior the past year he has been a steward of the club, a post he relinquishe only recently due to ill health.
William John Drummond came to China from Japan and joined the Standard Oil Ca. of New York in December 1910 and was associated with this company until his retirement in October 1931 since which date he has devoted practically all his time io racing and the interests of the Shanghai Race Club and the International Race Club.
'Steve' was aged sixty-one at the time of his death and his years were well packed with a wealth of stories. As a raconteur he had no peer. He was also blessed with a magnifice memory particularly for dates. One of his best efforts when question as to the gate a person was born, a typical answer was "oh yes, it was a Thursday, a very filthy day I have particular occasion to remember, as it was the day before." He was frequently checked 1p on and never found wrong.
He has also been a famous regular on the course in the early mornings and his knowledge of past perform ances and galloping times was truly astounding. His successes on the turf were not large as he spent more time in organising the game than in participating, although his Royal Scot" had a good win in the mafoo's champions in December 1937.
Racing however did not prevent his taking a keen interest in greyhound racing after his retirement, a sport in which he met with conside: able success as an owner of numei ous winners.
A true sportsman of the old school whose passing Shanghai will mourn very much indeed.
He is survived by his wife and three brothers:—J.E., J.E., and DI
Drummond to whom all sympathy is extended in their bereavement. methods of crypta-aggression employed by Herr Hitler's Government in Czechoslovakia would almost certainly be used again elsewhere, and he, too, appealed to Mr. Chamberlain, to ther like-minded nations, under British leadership, in the defence of the principles of law in international rélations.—Reuter.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.